PORT ANGELES — A 59-year-old professor from Brigham Young University in Utah was rescued from along the banks of the Elwha River on Tuesday afternoon after he suffered a medical emergency, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 officials said.

The 59-year-old man, whose name was not immediately available, was working with a team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studying the Elwha along a trail about a half-mile from the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and Olympic Hot Springs, said Fire District 2 Chief Sam Phillips.

Eight Fire District 2 firefighter/paramedics and two Olympic National Park rangers got to the man along the steep trail by about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, Phillips said, and were able to carry the man out with a wheeled backboard provided by the park rangers.

Medics got the man to the trailhead by 4:26 p.m., Phillips said, and he was transported to Olympic Medical Center.

A ambulance, a brush fire engine and command vehicle from Fire District 2 all responded to the scene, Phillips added. ________Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.